Yesterday, Aug. 24, offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico had to evacuate their teams with Hurricane Harvey's arrival, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement reported.

From 11:30 a.m., 39 production platforms were evacuated - or about 6% of manned platforms in the Gulf.

As part of the evacuation procedures, technicians have closed subsea safety valves installed on the ocean floor to prevent oil or gas leakage. This means that 9.56 percent of the current oil production in the Gulf was blocked, amounting to almost 170 thousand barrels per day. In addition, 0.04 percent of the area's natural gas production was closed.

Harvey is a Category 2 storm and was "approaching dangerously" off the Texas coast this morning, Friday's Hurricane Center meteorologists said. Along with the strong winds, the storm is expected to bring up to 35 inches (900mm) of rainfall in Texas.

"The Harvey rain will cause devastating and life-threatening floods," warned the National Hurricane Service.

In the New Orleans metropolitan area, rainfall is expected 4 to 6 inches (100 to 150mm) during the next week of the storm.

From 7 am local time, Harvey was 140 miles southeast of Corpus Christi in Texas, and 145 miles southeast of Port O'Connor, also in Texas. According to the National Hurricane Center, Harvey can become a Category 3 storm, with winds of at least 111 mph, before reaching the Texas coast.

Moving northwest at 10 mph and expected to hit Texas late Friday night, or early Saturday morning, meteorologists said.